Sleep is for Weeners
by booksbycolor
Summary: Annabeth is returning to public school after being home schooled for years. Because of a traumatic event, she doesn't sleep for weeks on end, when she literally collapses from exhaustion. When a new kid moves in a few weeks before school starts, Annabeth will battle relationships, romance, bullies, and her own personal demons.*1st story, rated T for curses&depression-I suck at sums
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do NOT own these characters! At all. They all belong to the fabulous Rick Riordan.

ANNABETH POV:

I checked my watch. 3:12. I hadn't slept in a week and a half, but then again, I don't sleep much anymore.

Most people have sleep that is full of dreams and joy, but mine are plagued by nightmares and memories.

It was a clear summer night, and on nights like these, it feels so good to sit on the ledge roof and dangle my legs over, the warm breeze making my hair tickle me. I'd like to say I do my best thinking here. I closed my eyes, and it was so peaceful. I heard the door to the roof open and close, but didn't bother to look and see who it was. The only person that comes up here is me and occasionally my overprotective brother, Matt. I just leaned back, my arms propping my weight up beside me, head back with my eyes closed. He jumped onto the balcony in a sitting position on my right.

"What are you doing up so early?"

My eyes snapped open and I whipped my head around to see who had spoken. That was NOT Matt. I didn't recognize him, but he had black hair that looked like he had just been on the beach, sea green eyes, toned muscles, and the tan of an athlete. Long story short; he was hot.

"Couldn't sleep," I mumbled as I turned back to resume my previous position. Normally hot people don't just come up and talk to me, so I really have no idea what to do. "Yeah, me neither. I just moved here and I start school at Charlotte High school this fall. I'm really nervous." He says. So he just moved here. That's why I don't recognize him. "Oh," is all I say. I thought maybe he didn't sleep regularly, in which case we would have something in common. He interrupted my thoughts, "What's keeping YOU up so early?" He asked. "Umm... Uhh..." I wasn't expecting him to ask. What do I say?! I can't just tell him everything. He wouldn't understand. "You know... nightmares, monsters under my bed and in my closet, the usual..." I laughed nervously. He's going to see right through me. Surprisingly, he didn't push me and just turned to go. "I hope you... Get some sleep? Goodnight... I'm sorry, I just realized I don't know your name." He said. "Annabeth," I replied. "And you are...?" I asked. "Oh, I'm Percy."said Percy. "Well, nice to meet you Percy. Goodnight." I said. "My pleasure, Annabeth. I'll see you around." He said. And with that, he left the rooftop.

I finally let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding. Trying not to have a flashback while keeping a steady conversation is really hard. But now, nothing was stopping me from being sucked into the past.

_I'm eight years old, cowering in a corner. I had learned to cope with pain differently then other people, so I just curled up and ignored it for as long as I could. Judging from the sharp pain in my side, he was kicking me, and had likely broken a few ribs. With every hit came another new insult. "Your... mother left... because... of... you!" he said. "It's... all... your... FAULT!" It was like this every day. After the first few months of abuse, my mother had taken me and my brother and ran. We moved across the country to get away from him._

Eight years have gone by and I'm still having nightmares. Fun, right? That's not even the best part. My nightmares are different from most people's. My dreams are night terrors, which means that I feel the pain, and I can't wake up until it's over. A lot of times I scream and wake other people up, so I've learned to stay awake for about one and a half weeks at a time. At which time I'll just collapse wherever. Which reminds me, it's coming up. It'll probably be tomorrow. It's kind of like a period, though. You have it on a loose schedule so you can expect it, but sometimes it comes earlier and sometimes it comes later. Mostly, I've been home schooled, so this inconsistency doesn't affect me much, but I'm going to public school for my sophomore year. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not nervous. I'll just lie low and try to keep out of trouble. I checked my watch again. 6:48. Wow, how time flies when you're worrying. Until next time, roof.

~short line break~

With my legs dangling off the edge, I slipped forward. That's right folks, I just jumped off a roof. Well, slipped. Dauntless, I know.

Right onto our apartments fire escape.

I bet you actually thought I jumped. I'm not _that _depressed. Climbing in through the window, I was going to start on breakfast, but my mom had beat me to it. That was odd. She never made breakfast unless we were having company.

**Unless we were having company! **

Percy and his family just moved into our apartment complex. I face palmed myself.

"We're having the Jacksons over, aren't we?" I asked, peeking through my fingers. "Yes," she answered. "Remember? I told you yesterday? My goodness, Annabeth. You need to pay attention!" she scolded.

Shit, I thought. I was still in my clothes from last night AND I was entering the stage where I could possibly collapse. He was going to think I was some sort of hobo! I dashed to my room and yanked on a clean t-shirt, jeans, and a leather jacket. At least I've got one problem solved. As I walked out the door to my room, I yanked my wavy, untamed hair into a messy ponytail just as I heard my mom answer the door and greet our guests. Damn it. I wouldn't get to tell her beforehand, but I could tell Matt. I sat in my seat at the table and tapped twice on the hardwood surface to let him know my 'episode' was supposed to come very soon. That's right, we have a code, because we're juvenile and stupid. Well, not really stupid.

When I decided to go to public school this year, we both decided that I need an indiscreet way to let him know at school just in case. Three taps means that it's happening right now and I need to find somewhere private immediately. Hopefully I wouldn't have to use that one today, but feeling the way I do, I wouldn't be surprised. I can usually feel them coming on, but symptoms show very fast.

Anyway, he seemed to get the message because he looked at me with worried eyes, but nothing could be done about it now because the Jacksons were seating themselves. I glanced up at the boy sitting beside me and was surprised to find that it was Percy.

I assumed that he might not want to come to a breakfast with his mom and neighbors, I mean, who would? He looked at me with recognition, but I shook my head slightly. I wasn't supposed to be on the roof because of my episodes, but I go up there almost every night. He was NOT going to ruin this for me. My mom broke the awkwardness first.

"So Annabeth, this is Percy. He'll be a sophomore at Charlotte High in the fall too. You guys can learn the halls together." She said. I turned to face him, but he spoke first. "It's alright Mrs. Chase, we've already-" Obviously he didn't understand the look I had given him before, so I butted in.

"Nice to meet you, Percy. I'm sure we'll get along famously." I interrupted, offering my hand. He shook it uncertainly until I gave him a look that said 'go along with it!' Thankfully, he did.

"Pleasure's all mine, Annabeth." He said, looking me straight on the eye. At the worst moment possible, I started seeing dark spots cloud my vision, and averted my eyes. Quickly, I tapped three times on the table. Matt glanced up at me, and seeing the green face I had on, he helped me out. Turning to look at Mom, he spoke. "Mom, may Annabeth and I be excused?" He asked. One look and she knew what was going on. A slight nod was all I needed to stand unsteadily from the table. As I got up, I could've sworn I saw a worried look on Percy's face, but I must've imagined it. I barely knew the guy, and he just seemed too cool (and hot) for me. Once we started school, he'll see me for the freak that I am and ignore me just like everyone else did before I was home schooled.

After clutching onto Matt's arm and stumbling down the hallway, I finally reached my bed. Collapsing into its layers, my last thought was of Percy with his cute, worried look on before I passed out from exhaustion.

**A/N: I know everyone says this, but this is my first fan-fiction ever and I would love it if you could review and tell me things. Like if:  
-the chapters are too long  
-the chapters are too short  
-there's bad grammar (I seriously hope not B/C that would be embarrassing)  
-your cat had babies  
-you hate me with every fiber in your being  
-you want me to continue the story**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Sleep is for weeners

I yanked on the iron chain fettering me to the wall, but to no prevail. Screaming in frustration, I flopped down on the cold cement floor listening to the sounds of the basement. If I focused, I could hear the steady drip of a pipe and the scurrying of rats feet. Also... footsteps? He was coming down here again! Pounding down the steps came a man in his forties who was obviously drunk. He had a stubbly beard, light brown hair, and piercing blue eyes. My father and tormentor. He yanked on my bonds, hauling me to my feet. I whimpered as he looped the chain around a hook on the ceiling, my dad flipped a switch and I slowly rose into the air, my feet barely brushing the floor. After tugging all my clothes off, I squirmed under his creepy glare. The chains were to prevent me from trying to cover myself with my arms,

After that, he just left the room. Even though I was alone in the room, I still felt vulnerable. It's like walking around your house naked. There's nobody there, but you always have that feeling that someone is going to walk through the door and be scarred for life. It was just my luck that someone DID come bursting through the door. A police officer by the name of Jackson. As soon as he saw me dangling there, he whipped around and put his back to me out of respect for my privacy. For that... I can't even begin to tell you how much I was thankful for.

"Can you tell me how he got you up there?" he asked gently. "There's a button to your right... It looks like a... like a light switch." I replied, almost in tears. Upon finding it, Jackson slowly lowered it down. After giving me a minute to put my clothes back on, the officer turned around to find me crying quietly on the floor. I was so happy. All this... it just seemed too good to be true. Kneeling down next to me, Jackson tried to coax me out with soothing words. When that wasn't working, he told me he was just going to have to pick me up.

Now, I can't handle being a damsel in distress at all whatsoever. At the first mention of this, I scrambled to my feet. Seeing that I was unstable to walk, he softly gripped my arm in his left hand and tugged me in the right direction to freedom. When I stumbled out the front door, I was surprised to find that it was nighttime in the summer. There were so many police cars in the street that I thought there must be a dead body. And there was.

Lying in the middle of the street was my dad. Very much dead. Even though I hated his guts for what he did to me, it still hurt to see the man who my mom fell in love with, the man that came to all my dance recitals as a kid, the man that I had taken half my DNA from, dead.

Letting a sob escape my lips, I turned away and let myself be guided to a nearby ambulance. Although I didn't need a gurney, the medic still wanted me to come with them so they could catalogue the damage from my abuse and give me a check up to make sure nothing else was wrong. What I found funny about the whole situation was that they gave me a blanket.

"What on earth is this for?" I asked the nurse. "Shock," she replied. When I muttered something about how I wasn't in shock and tried to shrug off the blanket, she just put it right back on. "I am not in shock!" I called after the nurse when she walked away. "Shock, please,,," I muttered under my breath.

Groggily, I sat up and checked the clock. 2 pm, Wow, I didn't sleep long at all this time, I thought. Until I saw the date.

I LOST A WHOLE DAY!

Rolling out of bed, I hastily put took a shower and put on clean clothes and went school shopping. After coming home, organizing my things and eating dinner, it was seven o'clock, so I "went to bed". Tomorrow was the first day of school after all. Fantastic. A whole new year of jocks and bullies. Once I was sure that everyone else had gone to bed, I snuck up to the roof. Leaning against the railing, I looked out on the glittering city and my thoughts wandered to Percy.

He seemed nice and different from other boys that went to our school, but I felt like he would betray me just like everyone. Once he went to school and saw how I was a social outcast, he'd get a hotter girlfriend than me and hang out with all the other douche-jocks and their cheerleaders. I reached up to wipe my cheeks and sniffled. Why was it so hard for me to have friends?

I just stared at the horizon, so lost in thought that I didn't hear someone come onto the roof. They just gave a little cough to let them know they were here, and I turned my head just barely enough to see who it was.

Standing there was Luke, captain of the Varsity Lacrosse team.

Let me just say that he was hot, but that didn't make him any less of a disrespectful d-bag. Damn it. I really hated him and just hoped he hadn't seen my face. I had straightened my hair for free at the mall today just for kicks. I looked like a completely different person from the back.

"Hey beautiful," he whispered against my ear in a low, husky voice. "What are you doing on the rooftop so late?" asked Luke.

He was flirting with me! Ooh, if only he knew who I was, I thought.

"I have to go," I muttered as I ducked under the rail and slipped off of the ledge. I heard him gasp behind me and I smirked to myself. It never got old. As soon as I landed and turned to enter my window, I found it closed. Desperate to get into my room, I knocked frantically hoping Matt would hear in the room next to mine.

A lot of clanging was coming from above, and when I glanced upwards, I saw Luke following me.

"Hey! Wait up!" he called, frantically trying to run down the stairs and catch up. The moment he had his back to me, the window slid up and I clambered inside breathless.

"Oh my gods, thank goodness you heard me Matt..." I trailed off. This wasn't my room. Someone yawned behind me, and I turned around to find the one and only Percy.

I was also embarrassed to find that he was only wearing boxers. Blushing furiously, I turned away.

"Do you always pound on people's windows at four in the morning?" he asked. I was about to reply when I heard Luke outside.

"Hello?" he called. I hit the deck and crawled directly below the windowsill, desperately trying not to be seen. Percy looked down at me with a confused look on his face, but I pleaded with my eyes and mouthed 'help me'. Percy turned and opened the window again, but this time all the way up. Putting on his best 'I just woke up' look, Percy called out to Luke.

"What the hell, man! It's like... four in the morning!" said Percy. Luke just scowled at him. "I mean, I understand the whole 'looking for someone' thing, but why so early?" Percy asked. Luke's eyes softened.

"There was this beautiful girl on the roof with straight blonde hair and a real tan, but before I could get a good look at her face, she just jumped off the roof." said Luke.

"You don't say," said Percy, glancing down at me. "Well dude, it looks like you're in love. If I see her, I'll definitely let you know." Percy was actually a pretty convincing liar. "Thanks," Luke mumbled as he climbed the stairs. As soon as the window was closed again, I let out a breath I was holding.

"Thank you so much for letting me in, you have no idea... Anyway, I'm sorry for waking you up. I'll just be out of your hair now." I made a move to leave, but Percy blocked my path.

"You wake me up at four in the morning, you owe me an explanation," he said, crossing his arms. Taking in a deep breath, I let it all out quickly.

"IwasupontheroofbecauseIdon'tsleepmuchwhenLukecameupandgotcloseandpersonalsoIjumpedontothefireescapethinkingitwasmine,butmineisontheothersideoftheroofandIassumedthatmymomhadclosedthewindow,soIbangedontheframetowakeupmybrotherwhohastheroomnexttomine." I said very fast.

(TRANSLATION: I was up on the roof because I don't sleep much when Luck came up and got all close and personal, so I jumped onto the fire escape thinking it was mine, but mine is on the other side of the roof and I assumed that my mom had closed the window, so I banged on the frame to wake up my brother who has the room next to mine.)

Shoving past him, I said "Thanks again for everything, especially covering for me."

"Anytime," replied Percy, in wonder.

And with that, I swung my legs out the window and climbed the stairs to the roof.


End file.
